Subject and Intention
Basically, Barry talks about the different "rages" that exists on a daily basis, which includes road rage, parking lot rage, and shopping cart rage.
He explains in a humorous way how unnecessary these rages are in the world today and how they just create violence. Also, aim/intent: to satirize, to poke fun at this behavior while also exposing it.
Genre and Context
The genre and context are that Barry was living in Miami during the writing of this article, discussing the problems of road rage in a city with a high population. Also, contemporary/modern day.
Persona and Tone
Barry creates a tone of bitting humor."Maybe one time, years ago, these motorists happened to be driving in the left lane when their favorite song cam eon the radio, so they've driven over there ever since, in hopes that the radio will play the song again." He suggest ridiculous but not completely implausible reasons for why people drive in the left lane, his combination of rationalizing with absurd topics creates a very humorous tone. He dabbles between sarcasm and genuine anger often :"the realization that many of your fellow motorists have the same brain structure as a cashew." As far as persona, Barry creates a character that is somewhat relatable and completely hilarious. He describes the different types of rage one can have such as "Too Many Products Rage" and "Automated Phone Answering System Rage". Details like this, I think, make him more real and relatable. You can tell he is being very playful in his writing, which is what makes the reader willing to read this article on a seemingly boring subject :We all need to 'keep our cool.' So let's try to be more considerate, OK? Otherwise I will kill you." (Also, as always, diction adds to his humor and tone. Certain style items, such as capitalizing whole words also help to set the tone).
Audience Appeals (Logos, Ethos, Pathos)
Pathos-"I see people get into their car, clearly ready to leave, so I stop my car and wait for them to vacate the spot, and...nothing happens! They just stay there! WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING IN THERE??!! COOKING DINNER??!!" (57).
---This excerpt appeals to several different emotions. It appeals to the audience's sense of humor and because they, too, may have experienced this type of situation, they find this statement humorous because it is similar to their thoughts at these particular moments. Additionally, they can relate to the frustration that Dave Barry feels at this moment. They get excited to see a soon-to-be-vacant spot in a parking lot, but are let down by the fact that it takes longer to wait for the spot to actually become vacant than to find an alternative spot.
Logos: "When I finally get into the supermarket, I often experience Shopping Cart Rage. This is caused by people - and you just KNOW these are the same people who always drive in the left-hand lane - who routinely manage, by careful placement, to block the entire aisle with a single shopping cart" (57).
Let me start by saying that I FREAKING HATE THESE PEOPLE, and and as soon as I read these sentences I thought, "That is SO true!". Clearly, this appealed to my logic, because I internally agreed with what Dave Barry was saying. The left-hand lane goers have no self-awareness or any idea that they're doing what they do, and the same goes for the shopping cart wizards. Dave Barry hit the nail on the head with almost every point in this essay, especially this one.
Ethos: "So the tiny minority of us Miami drivers who actually qualify as normal find ourselves constantly being trapped behind people drifting along on the interstate at the speed of diseased livestock, while at the same time we are being tailgated and occasionally bumped from behind by testosterone-deranged youths who got their driver training from watching the space-fighter battle scenes in Star Wars" (56).
Here Barry includes himself as one of the "normal" drivers on the road. He refers to the other drivers as "diseased livestock" and "testosterone-deranged youths" showing that he has a negative opinion of these drivers, corresponding with the audience's negative view. By doing this the audience does not doubt his credibility, and sees him as one of them.
Rhetorical Devices used (figurative devices, a.k.a. tropes)
Rhetorical Devices used (syntactical patterns, a.k.a. schemes)
The rhetorical device of appositive is used in this essay such as when, on page 56, Barry says "the motorists who feel a need to drive in the left-hand, or 'passing' lane" to clarify the meaning of the left hand lane.
In order for the reader to better comprehend how the passage should be read, Barry includes a form of interruption by using an ellipsis that, although it doesn't exclude information, allows the reader to pause at the correct time. This takes place on page 57 "to vacate the spot, and....nothing happens!"
Barry also uses an unnamed form of repetition when he lists the different kinds of juices. Although he does not use the same words repeatedly, it is clear that the repetition is unnecessary and purely for effect.
For many of his jokes, Barry uses a sentence structure that starts with a declarative statement and ends with a humorous remark. I would call it a punch line structure. (I like that-- "punch line structure.")
Ex: "People have been honking at them for years: It's a normal part of their environment" (56).
Ex: "If we really want to keep illegal immigrants from entering the United States, we should employ Miami residents armed with shopping carts; we'd only need about two dozen to block the entire Mexican border" (57).
Ex: "I would have called Tropicana and complained, but I probably would have wound up experiencing Automated Phone Answering System Rage" (57).
Antithesis is used to emphasize the wrongness of certain drivers' behavior, when Barry defines Miami as "a place where the left lane is thought of not so much as a thoroughfare as a public recreational area" (56).
Barry also employs parallelism of phrases in his description of the atrocities of Miami driving. He notes that "And of course nobody EVER signals or yields, and people are CONSTANTLY cutting us off, and AFTER A WHILE WE START TO FEEL SOME RAGE, OK?" His repetition of the phrasing in this sentence serves to show the many horrors one experiences while driving in Miami and to reason why people might begin to feel some "road rage."
Barry also uses parallelism while talking about motorists that hog the left lane. "Maybe they belong to some kind of religious cult that believes the right lane is sacred and must never come in direct contact with tires. Maybe one time, years ago, these motorists happened to be driving in the left lane when their favorite song came on the radio, so they've driven over there ever since, in hopes that the radio will play that song again (56). This contributes to the casual tone of the passage; this type of parallelism could easily appear in a person's everyday thoughts and conversations.
To achieve that same casual tone, Barry capitalizes certain parts of his essay, to allow the reader to hear a shouting voice as he reads. This helps to develop the persona of the rhetor.
Anaphora is used when Barry mimics the Automated Phone Answering System: "'...For questions about Pulp Plus in the 32-ounce size, press 23. For questions about Pulp Plus in the 64-ounce size, press 24. For questions about...'" (57). His repetition of phrases shows that he is annoyed by the lengthy recordings.
Subject and Intention
Basically, Barry talks about the different "rages" that exists on a daily basis, which includes road rage, parking lot rage, and shopping cart rage.
He explains in a humorous way how unnecessary these rages are in the world today and how they just create violence.
Also, aim/intent: to satirize, to poke fun at this behavior while also exposing it.
Genre and Context
The genre and context are that Barry was living in Miami during the writing of this article, discussing the problems of road rage in a city with a high population.
Also, contemporary/modern day.
Persona and Tone
Barry creates a tone of bitting humor."Maybe one time, years ago, these motorists happened to be driving in the left lane when their favorite song cam eon the radio, so they've driven over there ever since, in hopes that the radio will play the song again." He suggest ridiculous but not completely implausible reasons for why people drive in the left lane, his combination of rationalizing with absurd topics creates a very humorous tone. He dabbles between sarcasm and genuine anger often :"the realization that many of your fellow motorists have the same brain structure as a cashew." As far as persona, Barry creates a character that is somewhat relatable and completely hilarious. He describes the different types of rage one can have such as "Too Many Products Rage" and "Automated Phone Answering System Rage". Details like this, I think, make him more real and relatable. You can tell he is being very playful in his writing, which is what makes the reader willing to read this article on a seemingly boring subject :We all need to 'keep our cool.' So let's try to be more considerate, OK? Otherwise I will kill you." (Also, as always, diction adds to his humor and tone. Certain style items, such as capitalizing whole words also help to set the tone).
Audience Appeals (Logos, Ethos, Pathos)
Pathos-"I see people get into their car, clearly ready to leave, so I stop my car and wait for them to vacate the spot, and...nothing happens! They just stay there! WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING IN THERE??!! COOKING DINNER??!!" (57).
---This excerpt appeals to several different emotions. It appeals to the audience's sense of humor and because they, too, may have experienced this type of situation, they find this statement humorous because it is similar to their thoughts at these particular moments. Additionally, they can relate to the frustration that Dave Barry feels at this moment. They get excited to see a soon-to-be-vacant spot in a parking lot, but are let down by the fact that it takes longer to wait for the spot to actually become vacant than to find an alternative spot.
Logos: "When I finally get into the supermarket, I often experience Shopping Cart Rage. This is caused by people - and you just KNOW these are the same people who always drive in the left-hand lane - who routinely manage, by careful placement, to block the entire aisle with a single shopping cart" (57).
Let me start by saying that I FREAKING HATE THESE PEOPLE, and and as soon as I read these sentences I thought, "That is SO true!". Clearly, this appealed to my logic, because I internally agreed with what Dave Barry was saying. The left-hand lane goers have no self-awareness or any idea that they're doing what they do, and the same goes for the shopping cart wizards. Dave Barry hit the nail on the head with almost every point in this essay, especially this one.
Ethos: "So the tiny minority of us Miami drivers who actually qualify as normal find ourselves constantly being trapped behind people drifting along on the interstate at the speed of diseased livestock, while at the same time we are being tailgated and occasionally bumped from behind by testosterone-deranged youths who got their driver training from watching the space-fighter battle scenes in Star Wars" (56).
Here Barry includes himself as one of the "normal" drivers on the road. He refers to the other drivers as "diseased livestock" and "testosterone-deranged youths" showing that he has a negative opinion of these drivers, corresponding with the audience's negative view. By doing this the audience does not doubt his credibility, and sees him as one of them.
Rhetorical Devices used (figurative devices, a.k.a. tropes)
Rhetorical Devices used (syntactical patterns, a.k.a. schemes)
The rhetorical device of appositive is used in this essay such as when, on page 56, Barry says "the motorists who feel a need to drive in the left-hand, or 'passing' lane" to clarify the meaning of the left hand lane.
In order for the reader to better comprehend how the passage should be read, Barry includes a form of interruption by using an ellipsis that, although it doesn't exclude information, allows the reader to pause at the correct time. This takes place on page 57 "to vacate the spot, and....nothing happens!"
Barry also uses an unnamed form of repetition when he lists the different kinds of juices. Although he does not use the same words repeatedly, it is clear that the repetition is unnecessary and purely for effect.
For many of his jokes, Barry uses a sentence structure that starts with a declarative statement and ends with a humorous remark. I would call it a punch line structure. (I like that-- "punch line structure.")
Ex: "People have been honking at them for years: It's a normal part of their environment" (56).
Ex: "If we really want to keep illegal immigrants from entering the United States, we should employ Miami residents armed with shopping carts; we'd only need about two dozen to block the entire Mexican border" (57).
Ex: "I would have called Tropicana and complained, but I probably would have wound up experiencing Automated Phone Answering System Rage" (57).
Antithesis is used to emphasize the wrongness of certain drivers' behavior, when Barry defines Miami as "a place where the left lane is thought of not so much as a thoroughfare as a public recreational area" (56).
Barry also employs parallelism of phrases in his description of the atrocities of Miami driving. He notes that "And of course nobody EVER signals or yields, and people are CONSTANTLY cutting us off, and AFTER A WHILE WE START TO FEEL SOME RAGE, OK?" His repetition of the phrasing in this sentence serves to show the many horrors one experiences while driving in Miami and to reason why people might begin to feel some "road rage."
Barry also uses parallelism while talking about motorists that hog the left lane. "Maybe they belong to some kind of religious cult that believes the right lane is sacred and must never come in direct contact with tires. Maybe one time, years ago, these motorists happened to be driving in the left lane when their favorite song came on the radio, so they've driven over there ever since, in hopes that the radio will play that song again (56). This contributes to the casual tone of the passage; this type of parallelism could easily appear in a person's everyday thoughts and conversations.
To achieve that same casual tone, Barry capitalizes certain parts of his essay, to allow the reader to hear a shouting voice as he reads. This helps to develop the persona of the rhetor.
Anaphora is used when Barry mimics the Automated Phone Answering System: "'...For questions about Pulp Plus in the 32-ounce size, press 23. For questions about Pulp Plus in the 64-ounce size, press 24. For questions about...'" (57). His repetition of phrases shows that he is annoyed by the lengthy recordings.